Account Creation

Accounts are created using the perl script /usr/local/adm/create-user.pl on tuna, the NIS master. The script doesn't create a rnadom password and print out an account card because there isn't a secure printer at the moment (e.g. closetprn) and I don't want postscript files lying around waiting to be printed. Once a secure printer is available, just add something to the MAKE_NEW_PASSWORD subroutine.

Account creation is not very batch-oriented at Statistics due to low user turn-over. At most there are 25 accounts to create for the beginning of the fall semester. The rest of the time they tend to be one-off as faculty have visitors and projects.

Account Removal

Account removal is by hand, since it is even less batch-oriented than accout creation. Users' directories are archived to /export/home-odd/users.archived/ with tar and gzip. There are just enough returns for collaborative research to make this worth while. The archive can be dumped to tape any year now if the space is needed for actual home directories.

Account Maintenance

Accounts fall into six categories as a result of policies implemented after break-ins during Summer/Fall 1998.

• awest:Allan West,G.F. 234A,x233,staff,minke:
• presnell:Brett Presnell,G.F. 220,x236,faculty,minke:
• rwu:1185:1701:Rongling Wu,MCC 533,2-3806,faculty,minke:
• bcoull:Brent Coull,sponsor jhobert,(617) 432-4917 bcoull@biostat.harvard.edu,exp 2001-04-15,minke:
• mcindoe:Richard McIndoe,sponsor jshe,mcindoe@pathology.ufl.edu 392-7643,exp 2000-12-27,minke:

Renewals and reaping users based on expiration dates are not automated. We have the policy so that we can remove unused acounts, but there is enough slack to allow accounts to hold over for renewal while faculty decide and/or contact sponsored account holders about the renewal. The main reason for the information is to allow out-of-band contact about irregularities in account usage and notification of important policy changes.

Last modified: Fri Oct 3 09:24:07 EDT 2003